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| June 2007 | National Research Flagship | Water For A Healthy Country |
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| June 2007 | National Research Flagship | Water For A Healthy Country |
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New sensor
technology advances Australia's water management World-class wireless sensor network (WSN) technology, developed by CSIRO, has been deployed to help monitor Australia's scarce water resources. This is one of the applications in a series of technologies developed as part of building a national Water Resources Observation Network (WRON). The first phase of the network, using "Fleck" sensors, was deployed in Queensland's Burdekin Irrigation Area in early March to monitor saltwater intrusion. The low-cost network can conduct wireless environmental monitoring in remote areas of Australia, thus reducing the cost of water resources monitoring and increasing water efficiency. In the Burdekin, five CSIRO-designed and built sensor Fleck measurement nodes and two relay nodes were installed to measure salinity, flow and groundwater level in key bores. The nodes self-organise to transmit data over the internet to scientists at CSIRO and the North Burdekin Water Board (NBWB) for analysis. "This near real time data will advise local sugar cane farmers of the point at which water becomes too saline to use for irrigation, thus saving water, time, money and crops," says Ross Ackland who is leading the WRON for CSIRO. The NBWB has supported the deployment through a variety of measures including building relationships with the local community and providing flow meters and salinity sensors. This collaborative approach allows NBWB and CSIRO to improve their understanding of this complex and variable groundwater system that will have application across Australia. "Wireless sensor networks act as 'macroscopes' allowing a study of environmental indicators at a fine scale over a considerable area, thus revolutionising the way scientists gather data," says Mr Ackland.
"This will allow water managers to better anticipate changes in water availability and demand, define adequate allocations, shape demand and inform new infrastructure planning." CSIRO is working with state and federal government agencies and private sector organisations to realise the WRON vision of establishing a technology platform to provide an Australia-wide network of water information systems delivering dynamic, timely reporting and forecasting of Australia's water resources. WRON aims to achieve 20 per cent saving in annual costs of water resource management by 2010. The technology is part of the $9 million-a-year WRON being built by the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship. Read more about WRON. Contact: Ross Ackland, CSIRO ICT Centre
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IN THIS EDITION:
Major collaboration aims to improve energy efficient water desalination Water Research Alliance for South-East Queensland Greenhouse gases cut WA rainfall Climate impacts on water security investigated for regional NSW New study predicts the impact of forests on water Valuing Recreation in the Murray Science challenges in the Great Barrier Reef catchment WATER RESOURCES: Quenching Data Thirst the First Step to Water Security New sensor technology advances Australia's water management Meet some scientists from the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship
EARLIER UPDATES
September
2005
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The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship is a CSIRO initiative and part of the National Research Flagships program that aims to deliver scientific solutions to advance Australia's most important national objectives. One of the largest scientific initiatives ever mounted in Australia, it aligns closely with the Federal Government's National Research Priorities. The initiative brings together our national research resources to deliver breakthroughs in fields ranging from healthcare to light metals and the environment. |
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About this email This E-Newsletter uses an HTML-rich media format to provide an easy-to-follow, visually attractive layout. If for any reason, your computer does not support HTML format email, please let us know by emailing editor.healthycountry@csiro.au with your full name and email address, and we will ensure you receive our E-Newsletter in a plain-text format. Please feel free to forward it to those in your organisation who would be interested in receiving future newsletters. If you do not wish to receive this electronic newsletter from the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, please reply to this message with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Alternatively, please contact editor.healthycountry@csiro.au or telephone us on +61 2 6246 4565 to request the removal of your email address. This E-Newsletter is a publication of CSIRO. It does not purport to be comprehensive or to render professional advice. All material in this publication is subject to copyright. For permission to reproduce any part or all of an article, please contact the editor. |
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Water for
a Healthy Country
Flagship CSIRO Editor: Leane Regan CSIRO Black Mountain Laboratories, Canberra, ACT, 2601 Phone: +61 2 6246 4565 Fax: +61 2 6246 5560 editor.healthycountry@csiro.au www.csiro.au/healthycountry/ |
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Water has become a vigorously contested resource. Efficient water resource
management and informed decision making is currently hampered by a lack of
sound water information. 
"WRON
technologies will link together hydrometric, geospatial, usage and
entitlement data using web services. Data will be analysed to enable cheaper
and more accurate reporting and forecasting of Australia's scarce water
resources," says Mr Ackland.
